Welcome to JustDuke.Com! I'm an avid Duke Basketball fan and decided to start up this Duke Blog to report on Duke games, Duke rumors, Duke recruiting, Duke tickets, and everything else about Duke Basketball. I hope you will leave some comments and check out the Duke blog on a regular basis. GO DUKE!

Coach K was counting on freshman Mason Plumlee to play early and often this season but that is has been but on hold after a hard fall on Wednesday that broke his left wrist. Mason was hoping team up with brother Miles but that will also be put on hold due to the injury.

Mason took a hard fall in practice on Wednesday that resulted in the wrist injury,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “It was an unfortunate play, but we are confident that he will make a full recovery. Mason is going to be a very good player for us, and we look forward to him getting healthy and returning to the court.”

The Blue Devils will be without Mason as well as Nolan Smith who has to sit out Friday nights game due to playing in non-sanctioned game over the summer.

Gerald Henderson and Lance Thomas both went under the knife in the past week to have operations on their hands / wrist.Ã‚Â Both players will be sidelines for a while, but will be back 100% when basketball season picks up again.

Henderson had reconstructive surgery to repair a ligament tear in his right wrist.Ã‚Â ThomasÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ surgery was to reconstruct a tendon tear on the fifth finger (pinkie) of his right hand.

Brian Zoubek is indefinately out of the Duke Blue Devils roster while he recovers from a broken toe that he suffered in practice on Monday.Ã‚Â This will be the second time that Zoubek as broken the toe.Ã‚Â Last time he had surgery two days after the injury, but he is hoping that he will not need surgery this time.

Coack K told reporters that Zoubek will be back playing when he physically is able to, but he will be given the time off and not asked to put much pressure on it for a while.

Martynas Pocious who hadn’t seen much playing time this season will be going under the knife in January for an ankle injury he sustained over the summer.Ã‚Â Pocious will be out the remainder of this season.Ã‚Â I wonder if he will file for a medical redshirt by chance?

Pocius played in four games before being hurt and was averaging four points and 2.5 rebounds. He had 10 points and four rebounds in DukeÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s season opener, a 121-56 win over N.C. Central.

Duke junior forward David McClure will miss 6-8 weeks of action following surgery on his right knee. The surgery was successfully performed Tuesday at Duke University Ambulatory Surgery Center by Dr. Dean Taylor.

“The surgery will eliminate some lingering pain he has been dealing with and give him a chance to start the season at 100%. He is a tough young man and we anticipate that he will be ready to go when practice starts in October said Coack K.”

Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson suffered a left wrist injury on Thursday, July 12 in the evening session of the Pan American Games Trials at Haverford College. Nelson, one of 32 collegiate players seeking a roster spot on the team, is expected to return to Durham to have the wrist examined by the Duke medical staff.Ã‚Â

**Update, Nelson does have a broken bone in his wrist and will be out 4-6 weeks.Ã‚Â Just like Zoubek, we can expect him back for fall practices.**

Nelson averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game and was one of two guards in the ACC to average over 5.0 rebounds per game last season. In addition to finishing second on the team in rebounds (5.4 rpg.), he also led the Blue Devils in steals with 44. As a junior, Nelson more than doubled his scoring output from his sophomore season and connected on 47.8 percent of his field goals and 36.4 percent of his three-pointers.

Duke center Brian Zoubek will be sidelined for at least eight weeks after surgery to repair a broken bone in his left foot.The 7-foot-1 sophomore was injured during a pickup game Monday. He had surgery Tuesday to repair a fifth metatarsal fracture. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said Zoubek should be fine when practice opens in the fall.

“It is a setback for Brian,” Krzyzewski said. “He worked diligently this summer to add weight to his frame and he did so successfully.”

Zoubek is at 266 pounds after weighing 250 as a freshman, when he averaged 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per game.

Guards Greg Paulus and Martynas Pocius successfully underwent surgerings on the feet/ankle yesterday in Durham.Ã‚Â Both surgeries were performed by the Duke Sports Medicine Department, utilizingÃ‚Â their own foot and ankle specialists.

Coack K said that both players played through these injuries all season long and it they will be ready to go for next season.Ã‚Â I expect big things out of both of them.Ã‚Â Paulus has to show that he can defend the ball and keep his tournovers down while being a leader for this team.Ã‚Â Pocius will be asked to be a scorer on next years team so he will really have to step up as well.